Public Law: Text, Cases, and Materials

Citation

Le Sueur, A., Sunkin, M., & Murkens, J. E. K. (2016). Public Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Chapter Summary

The book has eighteen chapters in four parts. Each part opens with a short introduction, and each of the first three ends with a case-study chapter. Parts follow the functions of government rather than the usual doctrinal divisions of constitutional and administrative law. The publisher describes the aim as showing how public law works in practice, using extracts from cases, government reports and academic articles with commentary on their significance, together with questions and hypotheticals.

Part I, Introduction and Chapter 1: The Constitutional Rulebook

The introduction asks what a constitution is and why the United Kingdom has no single codified text. Chapter 1 covers the sources of constitutional law and practice, legal and non-legal rules, and the debate between political and legal constitutionalism.

Chapter 2: The Legislative Supremacy of the UK Parliament

Sets out the principles of parliamentary supremacy, its sources, the question of entrenchment, and the effect of European law on it.

Chapter 3: The Rule of Law

Treats the rule of law as an ideal of constitutionalism, defines its principles and considers how they are protected in practice.

Chapter 4: Separating and Balancing Powers

Discusses the separation of powers among the legislature, executive and judiciary, in both theory and UK practice.

Chapter 5: Multilevel Governing

Covers government at national, devolved and local levels, including the "English Question" and recent devolution.

Chapter 6: Protecting Rights

Looks at constitutional rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 and the debate about replacing it with a British Bill of Rights, with case studies including prisoner voting and anti-terrorism legislation.

Part II, Introduction and Chapter 7: Government and Accountability

The part introduction outlines the executive's role. Chapter 7 deals with the Monarch, ministers, the civil service and arm's length bodies, and mechanisms of accountability.

Chapter 8: Exercise and Control of Executive Power in the European Union

Discusses executive power within the EU and how it interacts with national governments, focusing on treaty-making.

Chapter 9: Prerogative Powers and Case Study on the Deployment of Armed Forces Abroad

Explores the sources and scope of prerogative powers, with a case study on the legal issues surrounding deploying British armed forces abroad.

Part III, Introduction and Chapter 10: Primary Legislation

The part introduction frames the legislative process. Chapter 10 follows primary legislation from policy-making through drafting, scrutiny and enactment, with attention to bills of constitutional importance.

Chapter 11: Delegated Legislation

Examines the nature, purposes and control of delegated legislation, including a case study on the Public Bodies Act 2011.

Chapter 12: European Union Treaties and Legislative Processes

Analyses EU treaty-making and legislation, and issues of legitimacy, transparency and accountability.

Chapter 13: Case Study

A case study on what happens when the Commons and Lords disagree: the procedures and conventions governing relations between the two Houses, including the Parliament Acts and the Hunting Act 2004.

Part IV, Introduction and Chapter 14: The Judiciary

The part introduction frames the judicial and dispute resolution functions. Chapter 14 covers judicial independence and accountability, the UK Supreme Court and judicial appointments.

Chapter 15: Administrative Justice

Covers tribunals and ombudsmen as ways of resolving disputes between citizens and the state.

Chapter 16: Judicial Review

Considers the constitutional justification for judicial review, how it works in practice, its grounds, and measures that limit it.

Chapter 17: Using Human Rights in the United Kingdom Courts

Analyses how the Human Rights Act is applied in the courts, with case studies including the right to manifest religion and anti-terrorism measures.

Chapter 18: European Union Law in the United Kingdom Courts

Covers how UK courts receive and apply EU law, and the relationship with parliamentary sovereignty.

Key Concepts

Part I: Chapters 1–6

• Constitutional rulebook: the legal and non-legal sources of the UK constitution.
• Legislative supremacy: Parliament's authority to make and unmake any law, and the issues of entrenchment and European law.
• Rule of law and separation of powers: the principal constitutional ideals the book uses to assess institutions.
• Multilevel governing: the distribution of government across national, devolved and local levels.

Parts II–III: Chapters 7–13

• Prerogative powers: executive powers that do not derive from statute.
• Primary and delegated legislation: Acts of Parliament and the law made under their authority.
• Parliament Acts: the procedure for overriding the House of Lords.

Part IV: Chapters 14–18

• Judicial independence: the protection of judges from pressure in the exercise of their functions.
• Administrative justice: tribunals and ombudsmen as alternatives to the courts.
• Judicial review: the courts' supervision of public bodies.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Organised by function. Dividing the material into executive, legislative and judicial functions, after a first part on fundamentals, lets students see how institutions fit together rather than studying doctrines in isolation.
• Primary materials in the text. The text, cases and materials format places extracts from cases, reports and articles beside commentary, with questions and hypotheticals for reflection. This suits students who are learning to read sources.
• Case studies. The book includes case studies on prisoner voting, anti-terrorism measures, the deployment of armed forces abroad, the Public Bodies Act 2011 and the Hunting Act 2004, which show doctrines under strain.
• Wide scope. It covers theory and political debate, devolution, administrative justice, human rights and EU law in one volume.

Limitations

• Dated on EU law. The third edition (2016) has chapters on EU executive power, treaties and the reception of EU law, which no longer describe the current position after Brexit. Later editions exist, so check which edition the course expects.
• A long casebook. At roughly 870 pages the book is larger than most students need for a first course, and it is built for reference as much as for continuous reading.
• Less on judicial review doctrine than a specialist text. Judicial review is a single chapter, so students taking an administrative law course will need a dedicated book.

Where It Fits in the Course

Within this course list, Constitutional and Administrative Law by Bradley and others is an undergraduate introduction to sources, institutions, rights and judicial review, in prose form. Law and Administration by Harlow and others is a contextual administrative law text. Loughlin's The British Constitution: A Very Short Introduction and Bingham's The Rule of Law are short accessible works to read first or alongside, while Loughlin's The Idea of Public Law and Hickman's Public Law after the Human Rights Act are more advanced studies.

This book is the one to choose when the course wants primary sources and extracts: it can serve as the main text for a full year of public law. Pair it with a shorter narrative text if you prefer a more continuous explanation.

How to Use This Book

The book is for undergraduates taking constitutional and administrative law, with no prerequisite beyond general legal study.

Read Part I first, since it supplies the concepts used in later parts. After that, follow the syllabus: Chapters 7–9 for the executive, 10–13 for Parliament and legislation, and 14–18 for the courts. The case-study chapters (9, 13 and the sections within Chapters 6, 11 and 17) are good for seeing the concepts at work.

Work through the questions as you read, read the original cases that are extracted, and check the legislation and recent decisions against current sources, particularly on EU law and human rights.